Today’s Times Properties Supplement from Times Of india carries a nice article explaining the need for Multi Level parking facilities in Chennai
MULTI-LEVEL PARKING SYSTEMS MAKE THEIR WAY INTO THE CITY
Talking about the viability of multi-level car parks, GRK Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, MARG Limited, says, “Multi-level car parks (or any other similar system) are only temporary measures. These cannot solve the problem. What we need to consider are integrated solutions for the city; these will include a range of public transportation options, such as the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) and designated cycling and pedestrian lanes. Given the fact that families own more than a car, we cannot provide enough parking space within each project. The multi-level car park (which is being constructed in accordance with the Chennai Corporation’s requirements at Wallace Garden, Nungambakkam) will provide at least 267 ECS (Equal Car Spaces), over a total built-up area of 76,044 sq ft. The project is expected to cost about Rs33 crores.” AUTOMATED CAR PARKING SYSTEM TO BE BUILT IN A RESIDENTIAL APARTMENT COMPLEX
Milind Shankar, Vice-President (Technical), Landmark Constructions, explains the shift to automated multi-level car parking solutions, “Earlier (even a decade ago), it was quite sufficient if we provided a single car parking space to each apartment unit. Today however, we’re looking at a minimum of two cars (in some high-end residential units that might even increase to three) per apartment. The most obvious issue we then have is a lack of parking space. There is only so much space available around the building and there are only so many basement levels we can build. One solution could be to allow developers to extend basement levels beyond the building’s footprint, as they do in Bengaluru. However, until the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) permits it, we must either adjust or switch to multi-level car parks. A regular car park requires approximately 200 – 250 sq ft per car; a mechanical park needs only a maximum of 160 sq ft and you’re going vertical, so in that same 160 sq ft you can park three or four cars. For Landmark Vertica, we will have 82 apartments and projected parking requirements for 72 cars. About 54 of those 72 spaces will be met by a four-storey (two basement, two above-ground) automated multi-level car park.”
